FIFTY senior citizens in Linden on Friday were beneficiaries of a food based dietary workshop hosted by the Food Policy Division, Ministry of Public Health, which aims at promoting a healthy life style among seniors. The seniors, most of whom are above the age of 60 are members of various clinics and senior citizen clubs in Linden.

In welcoming them at the simple opening ceremony, was Public Health Nutritionist Gillian Trim who said that the workshop was held after the Division gained cognizance of the rise in incidences of non-communicable diseases in Linden; hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers which occurs as a result of the lack of proper diet and exercise amongst the elderly.

The objective of the workshop is to promote healthy choices with respect to variety, quality and quantity of food; to prevent overweight and obesity; prevent the development of nutritional deficiencies as well as to promote increased levels of age appropriate physical activity. The guidelines were developed in 2002 and revised in 2017. “The objective of this workshop is that you can make healthier lifestyle choices, we brought you here so that you can make others change,” Trim told the participants.

In addition, the guidelines were crafted to be used as a part of the country’s strategy to improve food security, food safety, nutrition and health. Seniors were deemed an important group in society who are sometimes easily overlooked in the promotion of new ideas and concepts.
Throughout the one day workshop, practical sessions were also done with the seniors.